Harry Potter: Humanity's Next Frontier
by Emperor Vanquest
Summary: Synopsis: Upon arrival in what Harry Suspected was his home dimension, he finds ships are traveling toward Earth. Curious, he investigate yet another world, and reality, not his own while attempting to stabilize his magical core, and benefit his burgeoning empire. This is a sequel to Harry Potter Humanity's Last Hope.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter x Stargate Atlantis x Star Trek Universe

Synopsis: Upon arrival in what Harry Suspected was his home dimension, he finds ships are traveling toward Earth. Curious, he investigate yet another world, and reality, not his own while attempting to stabilize his magical core, and benefit his burgeoning empire. This is a sequel to Harry Potter Humanity's Last Hope.

Setting: En Media Res onboard the CityShip Atlantis, in the Alternate Universe designated AU02.

Characters: Harry Potter, Stargate, Star Trek Universe, O/C.

Disclaimer: No profit is sought, or accepted, in the publication of this fanfiction. It is purely being written and shared for enjoyment; no remunerations are accepted or expected by the author. All right, privileges, and copyrights belong to their respective holders/owners. I freely admit to having been on a Harry Potter x Stargate kick the last few months, and will try to give special thanks to authors who inspired me on my bio page. Until then, however, if you see something similar too another author of this genre, please point it out to me and I will check my notes as to whether or not I could have accidentally modeled my characters, names, places, events after another.

Please enjoy and review with your comments, critiques.

* * *

Chapter 01: First Contact

High above the sweeping hills of Bozeman Montana, in an orbit best measured by the hundreds of miles, floated one of the last remaining communications satellites of the former United States of America which had survived not only the Third World War, but also the Eugenics Wars.

It was barely functional, and served the dual function of weather tracking radar, and communications relay between broadcasting systems of compatible design. It had also served, during the initial years of its life in the 1950s, as a command satellite for the United States Nuclear Missile Defense Network.

After the powers of Communism and Capitalism had finally triggered the nuclear Armageddon both sides had feared in the mid 1950s, the remnants had gathered together to form a semblance of civilization dealing with the ravages of nuclear radiation and the poison it represented to the humans of the day.

This had been the cause of the rise of a genetically engineered race; one which would not have the weaknesses of their predecessors; one which would give rise to a civilization of equals. There would no longer be a strong to exploit the weak, and there would no longer be an inferior class to fear exploitation.

In a way the Communists had won, as the society that emerged from the chaos of nuclear winter was no longer one driven solely by greed unregulated, but humanity, no matter how genetically modified from its roots, would always prove that the want to possess and acquire was the common element that bound us as brethren.

The Warlords, Czars, and Emperors that emerged in the early 1990s consolidated their base over vast swaths and countries, demarcating traditional boarders which had existed for millennia were suddenly absorbed in to single countries with a massive urban capital; seats of power from which the likes of Khan Noonian Singh would send raiders and militias into the countryside and neighboring territories to seek "tribute" of both treasure and the flesh.

At the onset of the Eugenics Wars, a coordinated effort was taken to launch a single campaign against the Augmented Humans, those like Khan, who were self labeled _homo superior_.

As his capitol gates were breached and siege was laid to his palace, Khan and a select group of his most devout augmented were able to escape the ravages of the populous rising as one against their reign, and sought escape to the stars thanks to the miracle of cryosleep, ion drives, and the advances in fusion reactors Khan and his scientists had developed.

The satellite used to coordinate the overthrow of Khan, and the other Augmented's rule, was the same that a young boy by the name of Zefram Cochrane would learn about in his primary school history classes in Bozeman, and would spark his interest in the sciences. Its story would also lead to his desire to create, design, and improve upon existing technology.

He would one day name his warp ship after this satellite…the _Phoenix_.

Now Cochran had passed on from life into the general psyche of the public as a visionary and hero to those on the third rock from the Sun. There was even talk of turning his laboratory and compound into a heritage site so that future generations would be able to see that with vision any challenge or obstacle can be overcome. His last project, the Warp 5 Engine, was one which continued to bear fruit and had resulted in the two ships currently racing each other back to Earth.

That had been over a hundred years ago though; and now the prize of the fleet, the NCC 1701 USS Enterprise was racing back to Earth to expose a plot of epic proportions that would cause the foundations of the Federation of Planets to shake.

"Mr. Sulu," Captain James T. Kirk began, "how much longer until we reach com range with earth?"

"Less than five minutes Sir," came the reply.

 _What in the Hell was Harrison thinking! There's no way he'll be able to get away with what he had planned, or with designing that monstrosity_ , Captain Kirk thought to himself.

"Sir! Weapons fire detected approaching from the aft, impact in less than 10 second…It's the _Vengeance_ Sir," came the panicked cry of Pavel Checkov.

"It seems that the Admiral has once again been able to overcome what was previously believed as impossible," came the calm reply of First Officer and Chief Science Officer Spock from the right Captain Kirk.

"Evasive maneuvers! All hands brace for impact," came the orders of the Captain.

The energy weapons found their target and the Enterprise was thrown out of warp and the computer did its best to stabilize the ship with thrusters by keeping it from being sucked into Jupiter's gravity field.

Sulu typed furiously at his controls and was able to orient the com array of the ship in the direction of Earth, but before he could send off a distress signal, the _Vengeance_ emerged from warp and began jamming their signal once again.

"Sir," shouted Checkov over the noise of the alarm and commotion of the bridge, "there is an incoming transmission from the _Vengeance_ Sir!"

 _What's his play damnit,_ thought Captain Kirk.

"Mr. Spock, I want a weapons lock on that ship at all times and at your first convenience I want you to fire, am I understood?"

A raised eyebrow and a nod were his only reply.

"On screen Mr. Checkov," Kirk ordered.

* * *

*** _Kingsman Battle Group, Command Ship ISS Maverick_ ***

"Sir we're cloaked and are within visual range of the two vessels we were tracking. There is one heavily armed warship and a lightly armed cruiser. Active com traffic is being tracked between the two. Would you like me to put the audio through Sir," asked Sub Commander Nia'rish.

"Aye," the Commander replied, "begin passive scans and hacking their computer systems. I want data on these people. Have second wing launch a Class 3 social probe, targeting Earth, and take up defensive positions following pattern Delta 16."

The Commander typed a few commands on his console as he completed a link to Harry's Office on Atlantis so he could review what was going on live.

"I want to know what these people are capable of and if they pose a threat to Atlantis, or the Empire. Lieutenant Ka'lva please bring up a display of the two vessels. Where's my audio Nia'rish?"

"It should be translating and coming through any moment Sir," Nia'rish responded.

… _Kirk. You don't get it do you! The Federation is weak, and war is inevitable. We have no choice but to prepare and build up a true fleet capable of striking fear into the heart of our enemies and scaring off those who would otherwise attempt to become so. We have to kill our enemies; there can be no mercy._

 _You and your crew were supposed to have died a martyrs death. You all would have had ships named after you for generations to come. Children would have sang your praises as we struck at the heart of the Klingon Empire, and brought those dogs to their knees! This truce between us is a poison, killing us slowly._

 _ **Admiral Marcus you've gone insane. The Klingons pose no threat to us, the Federation would never approve of what you've done, what you made Khan do. There are over 200 lives on this ship that you want to murder to cause a pointless war. Do you truly wish for us all to die; even Carol?**_

 _Carol! What in God's name are you doing on that ship!_

There was a pause in the conversation.

 _You know Kirk I thought before I hailed you that you had one thing I wanted. The only difference you've made by revealing my daughter's presence is that you now possess two things I desire. Beam Khan and my daughter to the brig, then engage weapons fire. Target their warp core. I want it to look like the ship made it this far before dropping out of warp and exploding._

 _ **You can't do this Marcus!**_

The damaged ship began firing on the other, and took them by surprise. Power on the larger ship was lost and the weapons system was rendered inoperative.

"Sub Commander, open a channel to Atlantis, Supreme Commander Potter Priority One," the Commander ordered.

"This is Atlantis, I've been following along with your progress Commander. Introduce yourself and offer what assistance you can in resolving the situation. If you are fired upon destroy the offending ship, take as many prisoners as permissible. I will be monitoring your progress, and will leave this channel open. Supreme Commander Out."

"You heard him," yelled the Commander as the bridge officers began typing a series of commands that would slowly bring their ship into phase with the other ship's scanners and com frequencies, "I want contact established with both of those ships. I want to speak to this "Marcus" and "Kirk" split-screen."

"Aye Sir," came several replies.

* * *

*** _USS Enterprise Bridge_ ***

"Mr. Chekov, damage report," called Kirk into the com unite in his chair.

"Captain," came the highly accented voice of the young Chief Engineering Officer, "we have hull breaches along the aft saucer section, and have sustained critical damage to the primary shuttle bay; it is open space now Sir, and we have sealed that deck as best we can. The Warp Core is still online, but I have crews working double time right now to stop two of the antimatter injectors from fusing. I have repair teams reporting from all over the ship Sir, half our torpedo tubes are blocked by debris which will take time to clear manually, and I have assigned three teams to begin clearing our starboard tubes now, they have cleared one of five so far and that tube should be on line in minutes Sir. The power relays to 25 per cent of the saucer phasers have exploded and are causing electrical fires, which is the least of our problems as they are also leaking low-level plasma radiation, in various places around the ship. We are crippled right now Sir, but the cease-fire is only to our benefit."

"Sir," Spock began, "we should use this respite in hostilities to attempt to evacuate the ship. The escape tubes may not save the entire crew, but they could be launched. Some may be able to escape the jamming range of the _Vengeance_."

Kirk furrowed his brow before responding, "are you suggesting we abandon ship Mr. Spock? The pods would be sitting ducks; they have no weapons, and only minimal ion engines."

As Kirk and Spock were discussing possibilities and hashing out the morality of Spock's suggestion, Khan Noonien Singh was flitting between several consoles and stations on the bridge.

"Kirk," called imposing figure, "we need to move. I've found an opening into the _Vengeance_ and there's a small window of opportunity," he said as he pressed a few commands and a flight plan and details took over the view screen.

In the debris field between the two ships Khan had been able to plot a flight path toward a service port on the listing ship's underside.

"Can your friend over there get to this service port and open it on request," Khan spoke referring to former Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott.

Spock took on a pensive look and is eyes rapidly began to dart back and forth as though he were conducting complex calculations.

"Captain, Khan's plan is not without merit but might I remind you that the only bargaining chip we held has already been beamed aboard the _Vengeance_? Even with Mr. Scott's assistance the probability of your succeeding in reaching the _Vengeance_ and not being drawn into Jupiter's gravity well are miniscule."

"Can we do this Khan," Kirk asked intently.

"It's better than doing nothing and allowing Marcus to shoot us like fish in a barrel. Their ship will be operational in 30 minutes or less, and we are dead in the water for all intents and purposes…it's our only chance Kirk. Make the call."

"Alright, let's start making our way…" Kirk was interrupted as the view screen suddenly filled with static, and a shrill whine of feedback echoed through the communications system of the entire ship.

Half of the view screen came into focus and showed Admiral Marcus and his bridge crew running about, while the other half showing distortion and the faint outline of shapes which occasionally moved.

"Kirk," began the mad Admiral, "do you honestly think hacking my view screen is going to buy you more time?"

"Loath as I am to admit this, _Sir_ , this isn't my doing. Did you want to surrender and turn yourself over to my custody before I had to come over there and make you," Kirk asked as sarcastically as possible.

Before the Admiral could respond a horrible screeching and almost vibrating sound began to oscillate over the communications system.

The crews on both ships were doing their best to shut out the noise, while those with heightened senses, like Mr. Spock and Khan, were on their knees in pain trying to block out the noise to no avail.

As seconds drug on into minutes eventually words became discernable, and eventually a voice, deep and commanding, could be heard by the inhabitants of the _Vengeance_ and the _Enterprise_.

As the noise subsided, the viewer finally came into proper alignment and a bridge completely foreign to Federation specifications came into view.

"Greetings. I am Commander Boa'ran of the _ISS Maverick of the Kingsman Battle Group_. We have intercepted several communications between your ships and are here to offer our services in mediating your conflict; we assert jurisdiction under General Edict 407.3 of His Imperial Highness' standing Orders of Fleet, wherein assistance may be offered to lesser species in the event of imminent peril, or to preserve the interests of Justice."

Marcus and Kirk both looked confused as their respective First Officers were telling them that there were no ships in the vicinity and there was no source of origin for the signal.

"I'm Admiral Marcus of the United Federation of Planets, and you are in the sovereign territory of the Federation. While your offer of aid is kindly, you have no jurisdictional authority here, nor have you identified to whom your allegiances lie. Which Empire do you serve, and where is your ship located? Are you Romulan or Klingon?"

"Greetings Admiral, we are neither _Klingon_ or _Romulan_ ," the Commander stumbled over the words, "we are part of the Alterra Nova Star Empire. We have just left the Galactic void and are returned to this area of space when we detected your engine signatures, and a distress call. We are here to investigate. We have detected trace elements relating to weapons fire, and are investigating. We were able to observe you firing upon this… _Enterprise_ …Admiral. Of what crime is the crew guilty, and have they been convicted before an appropriate tribunal?"

Kirk allowed shock to register on his face, and Spock quirked an eyebrow in surprise. Marcus began to turn purple in rage.

"This is an internal matter concerning the United Federation of Planets, and is not open for discussion. Their trial was conducted elsewhere and they stole the _Enterprise_ in their escape from justice. Which I am about to administer," Marcus answered.

The Admiral made a motion and several crewmen began to execute commands into their computer consoles. Torpedoes began to launch from the _Vengeance_ and their phasers came to life firing upon the _Enterprise._

"All hands, brace for impact," yelled Kirk into the com system; but the impact never came.

In space the _ISS Maverick_ decloaked in between the two Federation Ships and allowed the, admittedly primitive, weapons fire detonate harmlessly against their shields.

The size of the _Maverick_ alone rendered Marcus and most of both bridge crews speechless.

Easily three times the size of the _Vengeance_ , the _Maverick_ dwarfed both ships.

"USS Enterprise, based on communications we intercepted between yourself and the _Vengeance_ , we are willing to offer you aid and defense if were to so request. We could begin sending over repair droids immediately to seal your hull breaches, and are willing to open our medical bays to your injured; or we would be happy to return to our survey mission if you decline. Please advise," Boa'ran smirked having guessed the response to come.

Kirk looked to Spock, then to the remainder of the bridge crew.

"Well, what are you waiting for Kirk," came the exasperated voice of Khan.

Kirk sighed and sat in the Command Chair.

"This is James T. Kirk, Captain of the _USS Enterprise_ of the United Federation of Planets. We have been fired upon and attacked by a rogue element of radicals within Federation Command; namely Admiral Marcus in an attempt to provoke war with a neighboring race of beings, and in an attempt to hide his illegal acts and War Crimes. To the Commander of the _ISS Maverick_ , I would ask for your assistance in securing the _Vengeance_ and its crew for detention, and would gladly accept any assistance you are willing to offer in repairing my ship and treating my crew."

"Acknowledged _Enterprise_. In Accordance with General Edict 407.3(b)(6), and in accordance with the Laws and Customs of the Alterra Nova Star Empire I hereby confer provisional diplomatic recognition upon the United Federation of Planets, and further recognize the _USS Enterprise_ and her crew as the Diplomatic Corps for the same," Commander Boa'ran began.

Several beams of light shot from the _Maverick_ to the _Vengeance_ and suddenly there were power fluctuations ship wide as Marcus began shouting for status reports over the voice of Commander Broa'ran as he continued in his discussion with Kirk.

"An offer of aid has been requested by provisional Ambassador Kirk in the apprehension of perpetrators of War Crimes, and in the disabling of the vessel known as the _Vengeance_. Its crew has been disabled by incapacity field sweep and are currently housed in holding cells aboard the _Maverick_. Repair droids have been deployed to provide immediate assistance with the crippled _USS Enterprise."_

"Captain Kirk," resumed Commander Boa'ran, "our scans indicate that there are presently 72 individuals in cryosleep whose power cells are slowly draining and whose life signs indicate a rate of cellular degradation only seen in deep-sleep interstellar travelers for a pre faster than light species. Do you need any assistance with either reviving these individuals to treat their cellular degradation or would you like our assistance in upgrading their housings with new micro fusion reactors, or fabricating replacement parts for their continued care?"

Spock caught the Captain's eye in an attempt to seek advice as to how they should proceed with Khan still on the bridge.

"Commander," began Kirk, "those individuals were hostages held by Admiral Marcus in an attempt to gain leverage over the gentleman standing before me today named Khan. Khan was blackmailed into committing several heinous acts of violence against the United Federation of Planets, for which we intend to see him stand trial; but at the same time I am unwilling to allow his crew and family to be placed in any danger. If you can help these individuals without reviving them, I would gladly welcome your scientists or engineers aboard; but at this time I am unwilling to relinquish them into anyone else's custody."

"Commander, I appreciate with the help you are offering and I now have your Com line in our computer memory banks. However, if you will allow, I would like to continue our discussion in 30 minutes time as our Engines were critically damaged and I may need to look into the possibility of evacuating my ship if we cannot patch ourselves up. I would ask though that you and your crew refrain from securing the _Vengeance_ as I intend on sending over officers to assess the ship for evacuation purposes in the event of further deterioration of the _Enterprise_."

"Captain," Commander Boa'ran replied, "we will happily leave securing the _Vengeance_ to your crew, and we stand by for your return communiqué. _ISS Maverick_ out."

The screen went black and the image changed to that solely of the empty bridge of the _Vengeance_.

"Mr. Spock," Kirk continued, "please escort Mr. Singh to the Brig, but once our visitors arrive he is to be given a video feed and to be allowed to question or speak with them in order to ensure the safety of his people."

Kirk moved to face Khan directly.

"My crew is like my family Khan, and while I despise the acts you took to avenge yours, I can understand it. I intend to see you tried for the crimes you committed, for the innocent lives you took in this conflict; but I also intend to see you remain in the loop and at least give you the chance to fulfill your protective mission…within reason. We are not the savages Marcus became Khan, and so long as you do not present yourself as a danger you continue to be given this leeway."

Kirk finished speaking and Spock and three security officers began to lead Khan off the Bridge, in restraints.

"Mr. Sulu," Kirk began once he'd sat down in his command chair, "I want you to assemble an away team of junior officers and assume control of the _Vengeance._ "

"Sir," Sulu stated in a questioning tone.

"You've proven yourself Mr. Sulu and while I have no doubt our new friends are more than capable of manning the ship, I'd prefer that particular asset remain under Federation control, particularly with an officer I trust."

"Aye Sir," Sulu responded before saluting and leaving the bridge to assemble his skeleton crew.

"Captain," the voice of Spock came over the com, "Khan is secured as ordered in Cell number 5, and a view screen has been installed as ordered. I am returning to the Bridge."

"Negative Spock, meet with me in Engineering," Kirk responded.

"Affirmative Captain," came the reply.

"Uhura," the Captain began, "are you able to send a textual message to the Alterrans?"

"Aye Sir, I've been communicating with their communications officer. Apparently they have an advanced computer translation system; apparently the language we heard them speaking, even though it sounded like English, was not their natural language but their computer could instantaneously translate for them."

Kirk blinked a few times with a somewhat slack expression on his face before he replied.

"Utterly fascinating Lt., but right now I need you to request that our friends liberate my Chief Engineer from their holding cells. If you would, ask them to transport him directly to Main Engineering."

"Affirmative Sir," she replied before her hands began flying across her console in an effort to execute her orders.

"Lt. Uhura, the situation necessitates you have the Con. Please try not to damage the ship any further," Kirk spoke to the highest ranking officer left on the Bridge.

"Aye Sir," she replied as she signaled a junior officer to assume her previous duties, "but I don't think that's possible anyway."

Kirk snorted as he stepped onto the turbolift.

* * *

***Harry's Office Atlantis***

"Well that was interesting," Harry spoke to Talia and the other officers that were assembled in his office observing the data stream and broadcast from the _Maverick_.

"Clearly they have a higher class of technology than we were anticipating," Talia began, "but with the reports I'm receiving from data analysis, sensor scans, and an analysis of their computer core data, even overloading their "warp" core near one of our ships, a light cruiser at that, with minimal shielding….they shouldn't pose a threat to us."

"Have you seen the metallurgical analysis yet," came the voice of Talia's assistant who'd chosen the, bland, name of Barry for some odd reason. "It's a titanium and duranium alloy, and apparently some type of superconductor element which allows for their energy flow conduits for weapons among other things. Have you seen though that its tensile strength isn't even comparable to our Trinium Hulls; it's like tissue paper should we ever decide to fire upon them."

"I did see that," came the voice of Harry, "but more interestingly the heavily damaged ship the Enterprise…have you noticed that she only has a single, if thick, hull whereas the aggressor ship has a triple redundant hull design?"

The head of the Defense Minister began to bob in agreement.

"I had noticed that Sir," the Minister replied, "but it seems that this Vengeance was a prototype. If what we've been able to gather of the drama is accurate, this Khan fellow was likely bred for war and conquest. If he was the architect of this ship, he is brilliant."

"Is the metallurgical profile of the Vengeance the same as the Enterprise," Harry asked the room.

Talia and her trusty data pad were on the question as usual, even while others began to sift through their own files to try and come up with an answer.

"No Sir," began Talia, "it seems as though the two outer hulls are of an extremely dense metal that is constantly emitting a type of ion field that would reduce the effectiveness, or perhaps even negate, the impact of the energy based weapons that seem to be common in this reality. The inner hull appears to be the same titanium and duranium alloy, but with thin panels of this denser metal used to shield their energy conduits from the radiological and electromagnetic effects of space, their warp core, and their energy based weapons."

"Comparing the two ships we discovered why the Vengeance is heavily shielded," began the Defense Minister. "Apparently, this was designed to be the first of a new class of ships dedicated solely to military might, which after infiltrating the main data core of Earth, is a first since they made "First Contact" some century or so ago. This…StarFleet…is not a military organization as we would consider our Fleet Supreme Commander. It's primary mission is neither Defense nor offense, but is instead exploration of space while allowing for the safety of their crew."

Harry utilized his neural interface with the AI of Atlantis to open up a few files on StarFleet with his own datapad as the Minister was speaking and reviewed their history and governmental structure.

"How many planets are in this _Federation_ and what are its bounds? I'd rather not have to fight for the Keep so soon if we are impinging on their territory, but at the same time it's mineral composition and strategic location make it invaluable to me," Harry asked looking at Talia.

"According to their own star charts Sir, the Federation is not so much a solid state as we would think of territory, but is better understood as several, well at present near two dozen, planets who share resources in this StarFleet for exploratory and peace keeping purposes. Each Planet maintains their own unique and distinct government, and their own unique and distinct laws, governments, and security/defense forces; through the Federation does call for each member state to provide for the mutual aid and defense of a member state if needed," began Talia.

"That being said Sir, Earth really only has laid claim to the Sol System and the outlying asteroid belt beyond. According to StarFleet protocol their present procedure for exploring new areas is to launch directional probes which seek out star systems of interest, which upload scans of such systems to the StarFleet mainframe, and then only after analysts have reviewed the raw data will a scout ship be assigned to view the area. I've taken the liberty of purging any reference to Hadrian's keep, or to habitable worlds or the mineral rich asteroid belts within a 2 light year radius of this planet from their systems, and instituted a virus that will lay dormant and passively remove, alter, or amend any reports they may receive on this territory that we are presently occupying."

"Smart," the Defense Minister admitted aloud as he inclined his head in respect to Talia. "For what it's worth Sir, the Janus Net has been deployed and we have began launching the basis for what will be a standard sensor net for the area of space we are claiming. Nothing will be coming in or leaving our sector of space without our knowing about it. The Fleet has been deployed to patrol and find habitable worlds for analysis, and thus far three of the five explored show promise for colonies, should you give the order."

No one was mentioning the elephant in the room: the Janus Device. After their arrival in this dimension and Harry's subsequent rant that resulted in his apparating to a mountain range on Hadrian's Keep, which he subsequently leveled in a release of magical energy as his core threatened to destabilize due to his extreme emotions, no one was admitting yet that it may be impossible for them to go home…but they weren't giving up hope either. Their scientists just needed more time, and so Harry had ordered that scouts begin searching out and acquiring space to hold the Empire, and even now a battle group was exploring Pegasus and Ida while launching new social satellites in the three galaxies they were currently observing. Atlantis' sensors already picking up dozens of local planets with life on them, there was hope that in this alternate reality there would be a version of the Alterran's ancient allies to befriend and introduce themselves to.

"Well," Harry began, "if we are going to be stranded in this reality for any length of time I want a full threat assessment of the indigenous life forms, galaxy wide, and I want contingency plans in place for hostile elements discovering us. Whereas the previous reality seemed to be almost devoid of life, even built for death, but this seems to be positively teeming. We aren't going to remain hidden forever, nor should we; but I want our people to have a chance to relax before we try to ship out of this reality. It seems like a relatively safe one to live in compared to the last, but until we are sure, I want scouts, probes, and battle groups in full cloak. I don't want to provoke a war, nor to offend potential allies; for now, other than our apparent recognition of the Federation, we're off the radar folks."

Talia and the others in the room were taking notes as Harry spoke, pondering on what he'd said and what the implications of his words could be.

Harry continued, "I want a diplomatic team assembled and sent to Earth immediately. Make sure they carry a sanitized version of our Governing Structure and History, claiming we are returned to this sector of the Galaxy after several decades of inactivity. These people would not be able to comprehend our current level of technology, so you are to dummy our records to reflect technologies they can comprehend."

Harry sighed before he stood from his desk and walked to the large windows overlooking his private balcony and the great ocean of Hadrian's Keep where Atlantis was currently moored before continuing, "the Enterprise and her crew will need help in explaining what's gone on, and who we are, without passions being inflamed that this was something other than an elaborate plot by a madman to expose untold innocents to an interstellar war. If Earth has a Foreign Minister, or Chief Diplomat, I want to be speaking with him/her/it within the hour, and I want the Cabinet assembled for observation purposes."

"I know I don't need to impress upon you lot the importance of the moral of our people right now, and I take full blame for our being in this situation, but I also take responsibility for the life of my people, their happiness and stability, and the eventual resurgence of my ancestors to the stars in my home reality. I've been in discussions with Dr. Marcus, and as he can attest, the people who currently make up our Empire are neither human or machine; forgive me for saying this so bluntly, but you're an entirely new species of creature which is sentient and entitled to life and natural development. I think of you all as my children, and will be damned if I don't give you all a chance to flourish. I've got the time to accomplish my goals in my own time, and right now my number one priority is to ensure that we can have stability rather than growth for growth's sake."

There were several pensive looks, some wistful, and more than one was smiling at Harry and the implications of what he was suggesting.

From the window Harry continued as several native species of bird flew by.

"We're starting a new day; not only in the chapter of the Alterran people, but beginning a new book for Homa-Alterra. I hope, when you write the history of your people and your role within my Court, you will recall times such as these; times when I sought to ensure the freedom of choice, individuality, and free will for your people and that I considered you my family."

Harry grabbed the windowsill and slumped, head down and all, as he prepared for what he was about to say.

"I was prepared to seek out my genetic cousins and offer them the free choice to enter into the life I was swept into with the chance to reclaim the very stars, and traverse galaxies. I was prepared to utilize every resource I had at my disposal to ensure order was brought to chaotic times; but I was not prepared to create a new form of life, to have the burden of so many lives, so many _souls_ , weighing on my heart daily. Then we got to that cursed dimension which absolutely reeked of death, destruction, and damnation. When I began to realize your biology I knew you all would be vulnerable to the virus. I couldn't lose a single one of you. It would have devastated me."

Harry took a deep breath before he turned around, and faced his legacy.

"I think this reality will be one which will give our people a chance to not only survive, but thrive. If Earth is fairly well protected, I'm not averse to the idea of moving on to a new area, and claiming new space to let the Alterrans prosper, but I'm not going to try to reactivate the Janus device anytime soon. It's time to allow our people the chance to experience what life is, in and out of service to the Empire. Right now my magic seems to be agreeing with this course of action, as I'm calming considerably and it just feels….right. God knows I'm not a seer by any means, but I think I should take the relative calm of my magic and the peaceful vibes I'm getting as being a positive rather than a negative."

"Sir," interrupted Talia, "I've received word that the Bridge Crew of the _Maverick_. I'd passed along your instructions to get us in touch with the Federation Diplomatic Corps, and there is an incoming transmission from Earth, StarFleet Command, from a Lt. George Paris. Commander Boa'ran and Captain Kirk have apparently been able to establish contact with Earth and explain the situation, and Lt. Paris has been designated as the diplomatic liaison with us until such time as their Chief Diplomatic Officer, Admiral Quentin La Roué, returns from a place called New Vulcan. If you would like to take the call here Sir, the remainder of the Cabinet can be present in moments."

Harry walked back to his desk and sat facing the hovering monitors which had descended from the ceiling so as to allow for face to face communication in a way compatible with Federation technology as he didn't want to expose his holographic technology at the moment.

"Very well," Harry said moving to his chair and taking the somewhat formal robe draped over the back and putting it on properly before he sat. "I don't want any other screen broadcasting, save mine. I want you all to observe. My chat line is open via the neural interface if you need to communicate."

Harry pressed a button and a middle aged man with strawberry blonde hair appeared on his view screen.

"Hail and greetings from the United Federation of Planets; I am Lt. George Paris of StarFleet which serves the dual role of joint research and exploratory arm of the Federation, as well as the communal peace-keeping force for our inter-planetary alliance. Though I have what is commonly considered a Military Rank, I represent no military organization, and our mission as a society is the peaceful exploration of Space and the expansion of our knowledge base."

The Lt. looked as though he were shuffling papers about or regaining is place on a datapad, as though he'd had to read this particular speech many times before, which he likely had.

"My government was contacted by representatives of your government, and I have been informed of the situation involving the _Maveric_ and the _Enterprise_ and before I begin I want to inform you that my government at no time authorized the renegade ship, _Vengeance_ , to fire upon your people. We appreciate your government's efforts to assist our citizens in freeing themselves from the threat posed by renegade elements, terrorists even, and assisting in the repairs to our ship the USS Enterprise."

"Because of your intervention, the majority of those still living aboard the Enterprise at the time of the _Maverick_ revealing herself, have been rescued aboard the seized Vengeance and were taken safely to space dock above Earth. If the alleged actions of Admiral Marcus caused any of your citizens to become harmed, we would request you allow us to contact them to offer them the chance to testify against the crew of the Vengeance as they are court-martialed. We are a society of laws and we intend to see that the victims of this senseless violence are afforded their day in court to ensure the accused receives just punishment for their crimes."

"Having said that Sir, may I have the pleasure of your name and rank? I was informed I was to be making a communication with your government and my files on the _Alterra Nova Star Empire_ are woefully lacking. Are you the Foreign Minister or a member of the Diplomatic Corps?"

Harry smirked realizing the opportunity he had here to find out how these Federation personnel were when they didn't think they were talking to anyone important.

"I'm here at the request of the Emperor Sir," came Harry's reply. "I'm not a member of the Foreign Ministry, but the Emperor wasn't expecting you so soon. I'm sure he will be back shortly. My name is Harry, and I'm sure my government will eventually accept your credentials Sir, if that's what the information packet you just sent over was, as a qualified representative of the United Federation of Planets and extend to you the warmest of welcomes."

Harry smiled as he saw the feature of Lt. Paris visibly relax, as Harry introduced himself.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to the Enterprise Sir. I'm very sorry you lost crewmen Sir. From what I know of the situation the _Maverick_ wasn't given clearance to interfere in the situation until our government until after the Vengeance had began its attack."

Harry was sincere in his apology. While he didn't real responsible for the deaths personally, he knew that had they been able to interfere before the Enterprise had been fired on they could have neutralized the Vengeance fairly quickly.

"It's no worry Son. I've only got the briefest of reports outlying what happened, but I've been personally assured by Captain Kirk that Commander Boa'ran has done everything in his power to not only assist in repairing the critically damaged Enterprise, but undertook swift action to the loss of life. Our officers and crewmen are not military personnel, but StarFleet is a voluntary organization and these people understand the risks fully before they undertake a mission," Lt. Paris replied.

 _He doesn't seem to be arrogant, or nervous which is surely a good sign_ , Talia sent over the neural relay to Harry and the Cabinet.

"What's the Federation like Sir, if you don't mind my asking? Is it a fun place to live," Harry asked trying his best to ease Lt. Paris into letting his guard down and playing up his youthful appearance.

"I grew up in a place called Oregon which was originally part of the United States of America, before the Federation existed. Before we had the ability to travel space, the planet I grew up on was engulfed in global war and the effects lasted for multiple generations. The United Earth Government came about as a result of our being visited by the Vulcans, which was due solely to the efforts of a visionary scientist named Zefram Cochran, and our two planetary governments decided to form an alliance dedicated to self betterment through science and peaceful exploration of space and non-interference with non-terrestrial life forms who were not as capable or developed as we are. From the union of two planets entering into peace covenants and mutual aid agreements, we have since grown into a Federation of some two dozen different races and planets. We now have a common judiciary, legal code, and services which are provided and administered through StarFleet which ultimately must answer to the Federation's Parliament and Executive."

"The times we live in now are no where close to the chaos that existed before. We have an old proverb on Earth, which says something to the effect of "may you live in interesting times," and that's certainly the case now. Space is our final frontier and we are approaching it that way. We are trying to be reasonable in our expansions and explorations and the more people we encounter that are what we call "Warp Capable" we wish to respect not only there territorial bounds, but right to privacy. Like any government we look to establish routes of trade and commerce, but also cultural exchanges so we can learn more about the Galaxy we live in."

"That sounds pretty interesting Lt. Paris," Harry replied as there was a lull in the conversation.

After a few tense moments where the conversation lulled, Lt. Paris decided to press forward and continue chatting with Harry.

"I have to say, you look fairly young to me Harry; are you apprenticing under someone in your government? I mention this because on Earth someone that appears as young as you are, would normally be in school right now. Are you a student?"

In all of Harry's dealing with government officials in the previous reality most had been taken unawares just as Lt. Paris had been by Harry's youthful visage. He loved leading people to that conclusion and then surprising them.

"If I understand your concept of time correctly," Harry began, "it takes one 24 "hour" period of time for your planet to complete a rotation on its axis, which constitutes one "day", 364 ¼ of which equal one "year" to traverse the orbital path of your star. Is that correct?"

Seeing Lt. Paris nod Harry continued.

"Then I am more than 18 of your "years" Mr. Paris, and would be closer to 35 of your years vs. 18. I guess you could say I have a certain boyish charm no?"

Lt. Paris registered open shock on his face and couldn't help but wonder if he was being had.

"Wait, so if you're 45 how old is your average politician," came Mr. Paris' reply.

Harry knew this would shock him for sure. "Oh," he began, "significantly younger than me."

Lt. Paris began to process the information and a sinking feeling began to settle into his stomach.

 _This is priceless! Look he's putting it together,_ Talia sent to everyone over the neural link.

"Harry, you never answered my initial question about your rank or position in your government. Would you mind clarifying for me?"

Smiling like the Cheshire cat Harry was only too happy to answer.

"Oh sure! Sorry for that, I don't want to be rude. My official name and rank is Harry Potter, Supreme Commander of the Fleet and Emperor of the Alterra Nova Star Empire. I hope you will understand my desire to speak in a relaxed manner with you where you didn't have to feel on guard all the time. I find if people chat with me without knowing exactly who I am it facilitates a more honest and productive discussion."

Harry sat back and pressed a button on his desk which activated the view screens for the Cabinet Ministers, to allow them to broadcast to Lt. Paris.

"These are my Cabinet Ministers Lt. Paris, and while I will be happy to invite more formal diplomatic relations in the future to be conducted by my Foreign Ministry, I wanted to have the chance to answer any questions the Federation may have had personally in these early stages. While I customarily reserve my interactions for the Chief Executive Officer of a government, I'm glad I've had the chance to meet with you."

Harry drew out a datapad and half of the screen showing Lt. Paris began to darken as Harry activated a program that allowed him to share information with the Lt. without directly transferring it to him.

"What I'm about to show you," Harry began, "is a recording of the entire incident involving the Vengeance and Enterprise, as well as the Maverick once it became involved. If you would please observe the screen."

Harry played the video and observed the reactions of Lt. Paris carefully.

After the video ended showing the actions and admissions of Admiral Marcus Harry began by addressing the obvious question.

"We had a scout ship in the vicinity of your solar system when we detected two large ships incoming. We ourselves are interested in meeting new species, and we picked up emergency com traffic requesting assistance which we discovered to be originating from the Enterprise. Out scout contacted the Maverick and she went in cloaked to assess the situation as we did not wish to interfere with an internal matter if aid was on the way; but Commander Boa'ran reported his systems detected active weapons fire in an active FTL Corridor, which could lead to massive feedback of subspace on a quantum level if a ship's drive were to go critical in transit."

"We were highly interested in ensuring that just such an explosion is not allowed to happen as the damage to subspace would be disruptive if not out right dangerous to FTL travel, and if the explosion were of a particular type it could ignite a quantum rift fire that would take out an entire solar system before the appropriate counter measures could be deployed. You're very fortunate we came along when we did and began monitoring your ships' systems to prepare to lend aid, else we never would have been able to record the dialogue you just watched."

 _That's right boss, pile it on_ , Talia sent. This was a convenient cover that the Science Minister was feeding to Harry as he was chatting with the Federation Officer; such an explosion was known to happen to a heavily damaged Alterran ship, but the Federation's technology posed no such risk as it was simply far too primitive to pose that level of danger. But Paris didn't know Harry wasn't talking about FTL technology that he understood now did he?

After frowning for a moment and massaging his eyebrows, the Lt. took a breath before responding.

"It really is lucky your ships happened by then. I've never looked too deeply into warp theory, but from what I can recall of the basics I'm still amazed there aren't more restrictions placed on the development of engine variants as those power houses are damn terrifying at the potential hazards they present; but I have to say I've never heard of quantum fire before. However, before I drone on any further I would like ask if you received my Diplomatic Credentials and files which outline the United Federation of Planets and StarFleet, and whether you will accept my credentials and position as the Temporary Ambassador from the Federation to your government. If you would please confirm your receipt of the files."

"The files have been received Supreme Commander," came the voice of Sha'orah a senior member of the Alterra Nova Diplomatic Corps, and aid to the Foreign Minister Fa'leh. "We have reviewed his initial file packet of Diplomatic Credentials; he is a well decorated diplomat Sir. We have no objection to his being recognized; however we do insist holding off on granting a mission and recognition at this time, and would advise that any and all communications happen via subspace until deeper ties are established. General Edict 407.3(b)(6) has been invoked Sir and the Minimal Amount of time we must give to the Provisional Ambassador is 6 months to negotiate a temporary treaty of nonaggression. "

Harry reclined and steeped his hands in thought.

"Do you have any objections to that Lt. Paris," Harry asked eager to see how the potential ambassador would take the suggestion.

"That is nothing unusual and not outside of our own protocol, in a sense, when we encounter a new species or spacefaring people. But I see no need to take Captain Kirk from his active command, as he is not skilled in the Diplomatic arts or a member of the Diplomatic Corps. I've been assigned to represent my people to you and have the requisite authority to speak on my people's behalf. I must insist that you accept me as your provisional ambassador in place of Captain Kirk. That being said, would you be willing to provide an outline of the sector(s) of space you lay claim to, or the boundaries of your empire as they presently stand."

Admiral La Roué had left in place a standing order upon his taking over the Diplomatic Corps, that the first priority after first contact was made with established spacefaring races was to obtain a star chart of their territory or systems claimed. This served two practical purposes in that 1) the Federation would be able to see the territorial bounds of a potential ally or neutral and would be able to respect their neighbor's privacy, and 2) it would allow for new routes of commerce and cultural exchange to be plotted in subsequent negotiations, or event safe travel routes to explore unexplored or unknown territories by traveling as a short cut through an ally's territory.

 _I don't think it's wise at this time to give them any outline of the claims we have to this sector of space as we are not yet fully apprised of what territory it may be advantageous for us to lay claim to Supreme Commander,_ Fa'leh advised over the neural link. _I believe we should agree to nothing today, save that we will review Lt. Paris' credentials and the Diplomatic Packet he has given us, and we will reply to them within a month as to whether we accept Lt. Paris or not, and will save the exchange of further documents for that date as well. We have a working relationship with Kirk; let's keep him as he'll likely feel indebted to us._

 _Sir,_ Talia joined in, _I believe that this is a prudent course of action to take. We have just began launching social satellites and we don't know what we could be up against, or even whether Hadrian's Keep is as beneficial in this reality as it was in the last. We may need to move further into the Galaxy, and if that's the case you've already established you don't want to reveal how vastly we outclass them technologically._

Harry furrowed his brow as this was all being discussed in seconds with the neural net, and began contemplating his words carefully.

"We believe Lt. Paris," Harry began, "that that request is a bit premature. We mean no offense when We say this, as We are following my own established protocol, but We are not prepared to accept your Diplomatic Credentials at this time or accept you as a Temporary Ambassador; as We have already recognized a Temporary Ambassador in accordance with Our Laws and customs, a Captain James T. Kirk of the _USS Enterprise_."

A somewhat annoyed look flashed across Lt. Paris' face before he carefully schooled his expression and regained control of his facial features.

"We requested this Diplomatic communiqué to introduce Ourselves to the your government in a token of good will, and We look forward to working toward more formal relations with your peoples. However, having just encountered your species and people we are unable and unwilling at this time to even begin talks to establish lasting ties without having the chance to review your documentation and the information you have provided. We offer a second meeting, with Our Foreign Minister Fa'leh, or her designate, at a time and by such means as will be negotiated between our governments, with your Ambassador Kirk."

Harry pressed a typed a few commands onto his datapad and sent an information packet containing Minister Fa'leh's Diplomatic Credentials and the Alterra Nova laws relating to diplomatic mission exchange, the government structure, and a copy of the Empire's Legal Code the _Leges ex Imperium_.

It would be interesting to see if the Federation Diplomats would raise the issue of Latin used in Alterra Nova, or whether they would catch the translation as the documents were being transmitted in Alterran.

"We have ordered the _Maverick_ and her battle group to remain in the vicinity of," Harry picked up his datapad and acted as though he were scanning for something from the information which Lt. Paris had transmitted, "Earth." Harry placed the datapad back down and focused solely on Lt. Paris.

"This frequency is one which your systems can readily utilize for contact Our government by. Messages sent by this frequency will be relayed by the _Maverick_ which will be stationed outside of your government's territorial bounds as outlined in the information packet you have transmitted." Harry pressed another series of commands onto his datapad before continuing and refocusing on Lt. Paris.

"We are aware of the recent hostilities your government has been engaged with due to information Ambassador Kirk felt obliged to share with us in regards to your Klingon neighbors. In a show of good faith we are willing to offer the services of the _Maverick Battle Group_ should Earth fall under attack, or hostile forces enter your star system; are these terms for the opening of negotiations acceptable to the Federation, if not we will reserve further comment and communication until Ambassador Kirk should make himself available."

Lt. Paris registered intrigue at the proposal as it was being described, then the briefest moment of anger and annoyance when Kirk was mentioned.

"I can assure you Emperor that I am more than capable of handling negotiations between our governments for the purposes you've outlined, and I can assure you that the Federation views your terms as quite generous; there is no need to involve Captain Kirk with these negotiations as he is quite injured and is seeing to the wellbeing of his surviving crew and extremely damaged ship. My orders are to open and handle initial negotiations between our governments pending the return of Admiral La Roué. We are accustomed to more open and free flowing negotiations in the Federation, and _we_ are not in the business of rushing relations. Trust is not immediate between strangers and only a fool would believe otherwise. Please understand that I am my government's trained diplomat and the only one authorized to speak on its behalf. Captain Kirk has neither the training not the authority to speak on the behalf of the Federation or its peoples," Lt. Paris replied in a polite tone, yet it was clear he had disdain for Captain Kirk for some reason.

 _Sir_ , began the message on the neural net of Defense Minister Vorlao, _end discussions now. You've set your terms and we cannot appear weak to the Federation. This hostility, minor though it is, could be their attempt to test our resolve or capability. We are the clearly superior race. Let them come to us once they are ready to meet with us on our terms and our terms only. Concede no ground at this point._

Harry agreed with the assessment of Minister Vorlao.

"We are sorry Lt. Paris, but that is unacceptable. We stand by our original offer and will engage in no further communications with the Federation except through Ambassador Kirk. We wish him good health in his recovery and the same to his injured crew. Please advise him to contact Us once the Federation has given him the training necessary for his post as Ambassador, and his is cleared to speak on the Federation, and its people's, behalf," Harry said as he terminated the video feed.

The video screens began to retract out of view, and Talia was the first to speak, as usual.

"I believe Sir, that that went better than expected. We're dealing with a completely different society and mindset than that which we just left, and to be thrust into this situation within the first 24 hours in a new reality, I believe the terms of our association with these humans is well thought and practical."

Harry sat back in his chair and observed his Cabinet.

"I think Sir that we need to thoroughly examine, and map the Galaxy," came the voice of Minister Vorlao. If our time in the last reality was any indication our Alterran databases will only provide a rough estimate of what we may encounter here, and I want to know what's going on and the technological capabilities of the natives before we become too entrenched here."

"I agree," came the voice of the Foreign Minister. "We need to have a clear understanding of what type of life forms and governments exist in this reality before we try and establish our own presence. I suggest that our primary concerns should be deploying several battle groups to begin a detailed examination of the galaxy and ensuring our social satellites are able to integrate and operate without alerting people to our presence. I dare say we may find a few worthy trading partners out there so long as we go about this in a calculating and deliberate manner."

Harry observed Talia and Vorlao nodding in agreement, and several other members of the Cabinet looked as though they were in agreement.

"I see," Harry replied as he tapped a few commands into the computer terminal built into his desk causing a holographic display of the galaxy as they knew it to phase into existence.

"As you can see this is an approximation of a real time map of Avalon," Harry began. "Minister Xi'an," Harry addressed to the Science Minister, "can you give me an approximate timeline of how long it would take to have the social satellites and various probes needed in place to gain a real-time display of our current home?"

The minister began pulling up data statistics on his own datapad and he asked the Home Minister to cross reference information he had relating to raw materials that his office kept track of.

"I believe," Xi'an began, "that with the current level of strategic reserves onboard the productions platforms we currently have, we should be able to launch a comprehensive galactic net, and have it operational, in a 45 days time if we go slow; by that I mean send scouts to systems before we launch our tech, as has been discussed Sir."

"Minister Vorlao," Harry began, "do you agree with Xi'an's assessment and timeline? Is that workable and practical?"

"I think it is Sir," Vorlao began. "I've been going over the numbers for our fleet and barring an enemy existing of comparable strength, ability, or number as either the Wraith or Ourselves, we should have more than enough of a fleet presence to settle and grow in peace. Right now the bulk of our battle groups are crowding up the Keep's system, and I'd honestly feel better if we could send at least a portion of them out on exploratory and survey missions to help us better prepare for what may come."

Harry looked at each of the members of the Cabinet as he processed what he'd been told.

"Suggestions Talia," Harry asked.

"If we are going to send out manned missions and Avalon is home to as many diverse species as I suspect it is, we should proceed with heightened caution. All ships should be fully cloaked, fully shielded, and phased to prevent any possibility of detection. Going back to what we discussed earlier, we don't know how much of this galaxy is occupied, nor which territories may be suitable for our use. I also wonder, Minister Valao, if it wouldn't be prudent to send out several probes into neighboring galaxies? Before we become too heavily involved in this, highly populated, galaxy, shouldn't we at least have a "black site" we can fall back on in the event we discover a threat in this realm we can't deal with at present?"

"That's a point I hadn't even considered," came the voice of Harry as he turned to face Minister Valao and give him his undivided attention as he answered Talia's questions.

"We could have probes in the two nearest galaxies within two and four weeks respectively, and their mapping, level three telemetry scans, would begin immediately and would take someone between four to seven months respectively with single probes. Current stores of necessary component materials limit our production capabilities to two probes the roughly 75 relay stations which will be required for the probes to transmit their data across the galactic void(s)," Minister Valao answered.

"Sounds to me like we need to begin finding colonies for raw resources regardless of the course we take today," came the Minister of Industry Sel'ea from near the end of the table.

"Which again highlights the need to have survey missions and a live stream of the galaxy and an accurate databse of all the local players, which brings us back to square one," Minister Volao responded. "But to be clear, I do agree Minister Sel'ea."

"I think we're just circling the bowl now ladies and gentlemen. We seem to have several good ideas and courses of action highlighted. Now, we just need to ensure that we follow through. Have the _Forge_ begin the process of creating the necessary intergalactic probes and support infrastructures, and let the Camelot begin the process of fabricating anything else we may need for the time being," Harry began.

He stood up from his desk and walked over to the holographic display and began manipulating it, zooming away from the spiral arm of the galaxy where Earth was situated and focusing in on an area of space which in the previous reality, and his home reality, held a collection of solar systems within a short distance of each other that were mineral rich in the materials the Alterrans used in the production of their ships and cities.

"This portion of the galaxy was designated as "Minoa" on ancient star charts, and it's proven fertile in every reality Atlantis has encountered so far having the raw materials we would need for production purposes. Regardless of any scouts we send utilizing the Keep as the source of origin, let's prioritize the Minos cluster and see if that won't make a suitable base of operation outside of the Keep; Thank you everyone for your attention. I'd like reports on progress every 12 hours, and let's do try and keep the reports down to less than 10 pages," Harry said directing his gaze to Minister Sel'ea who was notorious for his detail.

"You are all welcome to continue using the room, but I'm due for an appointment with Dr. Malcolm. If you will excuse me," and with that Harry exited the room, leaving Talia to conclude with the remainder of the Cabinet.

The meeting continued on for a few more moments before Talia called it to a close once there was a concrete plan of action that the Fleet would be able to undertake. Each Minister now had their marching orders implement, and it was looking like the sun never truly set on the Alterran Empire.

* * *

***StarFleet Command, San Francisco, Earth***

 _Diplomatic Corps, Office of Lt. George Paris_

" _Please advise him to contact Us once the Federation has given him the training necessary for his post as Ambassador, and his is cleared to speak on the Federation, and its people's, behalf,_ " Emperor Potter said before the screen went blank.

"Check the feed on that Ensign," Lt. Paris ordered his crewman assistant, "I want to know if he terminated or if we lost the feed."

"Aye Sir," Selina Ramirez replied. She types several areas of her desk which appeared to be a computer terminal as well. As her hands flew across the surface, information began to scroll on a glass pain which serves as her monitor.

"It seems Sir that the signal was terminated voluntarily. I have no information from which to draw the conclusion that the signal was either interrupted, intercepted, or not terminated purposefully; I think the Emperor simply wished to go no further in these initial negotiations Sir," Ensign Ramirez supplied.

"Ensign I want you to contact Captain Hudson's Office and let them know I'm on my way down to report on these events. Also, please request an emergency conference with Admiral La Roué. He needs to be apprised of these events, as I was ordered to report directly to him on the Alterrans; I'll let him be the one to decide whether or not we will comply with the demands of these Alterrans," Lt. Paris ordered. "Once he's able to conference, please let me know."

"Aye Sir," Ramirez replied.

After Lt. Paris had left to conference with his good friend, and senior officer, Captain Hudson, the young ensign was left to her thoughts of these diplomatic events and her duties.

* * *

***StarFleet Command, San Francisco, Earth***

 _Diplomatic Corps, Office of Captain Anita Hudson_

Captain Hudson and Lt. Paris were seated, rather comfortably, near the fireplace in the Captain's Office and the two were just being served coffee by her steward.

"So tell me George," the beautiful woman of African descent said with a slight New England accent, "what has you so flustered? I don't normally get to see you in this state," she said with a smirk as she sipped her coffee.

George looked to his watch, an antique Timex he'd inherited from his grandfather who'd survived WWIII rather unscathed before replying.

"We've known about the existence of these Alterrans for approximately the last six hours," Lt. Paris Began, "and we have no knowledge of them apart from what they've revealed to us; no one in the Federation has ever encountered them as the databases are utterly devoid of any mention of them. I just got done with over an hour and a half of discussions with their leader, and I'm nowhere closer to understanding them now than I was to begin with. I couldn't get any of the concessions that I was ordered to attempt to obtain, and I don't know what we're going to do."

Lt. Paris took a drink of coffee before he sat his cup down and leaned forward to face his friend.

"Anita I don't know what to do here. These Alterrans present a clear threat to our people if the recordings of the _Vengeance_ and _Enterprise_ are accurate. The weapons Marcus had this Khan fellow develop are at least 30 years ahead of what we currently have in service, and no damage was inflicted on the _Maverick_ ….8 high yield torpedoes, 4 standard yield, and 26 separate phaser cannon bursts struck the _Maverick_ in the span of 10 seconds. A volley of half that compliment almost certainly caused a warp core breach on the _Enterprise_ even with shields at full power, and it didn't even register an energy variance with the Alterrans," Lt. Paris said.

"I don't know what to take of them," he continued, "but I know I don't trust them. I mean, why were they in our area of space? How were they aware of what Admiral Marcus had done? How can they be so advanced technologically and not know the bounds of the Federation, especially in light of how easily they were able to demonstrate such advanced computer systems able to translate, in real time, English into their language and theirs into ours."

Lt. Paris took out a cylinder from his pocket and took a puff from it, as apparently it was a smoking device.

"You know those things are just as bad for you as the cigarettes they replaced don't you," came the voice of Captain Hudson after she'd allowed George to ease into silence and his smoking.

He looked at her with his favorite sarcastic face as if to ask why he should care.

"If you're looking for advice," she continued, "I think it's going to be best to play this by ear as far as diplomacy is concerned; we simply don't know enough to make an accurate call right now, and God knows we don't need another fuck up like we did with the Klingons…we're just now starting to get some resolution to that."

Anita sat and stirred her coffee with a biscotti.

"Now if you're asking what I think militarily…I think you're right. We know nothing about these people, their intentions, or their capabilities. I've not seen the readings of the Enterprise personally, and all of their scans of the _Maverick_ have been classified at the highest clearance. Scuttlebutt is that Marcus' little project is sending deep ripples and a shockwave throughout the echelons of power in StarFleet and the Federation. There's talk of a reorganization of the fleet and an effort to bring 'Section 13' into the light of day."

Lt. Paris continued to puff on his smoking device as he listened intently to what the Captain had to say.

She finished stirring her coffee and took a nibble of her biscotti before she continued.

"You're feeling the strains of the Corps particularly hard today George, and it's not the first time we've had this discussion. Do you think your frustrations with the Alterrans could be your wanting to get back onboard a ship?"

George scowled at the question posed to him.

"I don't think that's it Anita," he began. "I just don't like coincidences. You can't tell me that you aren't considering that perhaps the Alterrans had something to do with Marcus' treason? I mean, he's had to have based his weapons designs on something, and God knows even though we've come a long way since Khan went into stasis, even our best scientists would need more than a few months to come up with what he has. He can't have done this with a blank canvas."

George reclined back into his cloud of scented smoke, beginning to relax as the chemicals flooded his system and helped him release stress.

Anita fanned his cloud back his way with a collapsible fan she kept nearby for just such occasions.

"I think," George began, "that I have no choice but to recommend to Admiral La Roué that Kirk be given a crash course in diplomatic protocol. After what he's done with Marcus he's due a commendation at least. Wouldn't you think he'd deserve a promotion?"

"If you've been spinning this web of conspiracy to sound out your justification for acceding to the Alterran's demands, or to justify Kirk's appointment to the post of Ambassador when you speak to Quentin, I think you need to put that pipe down. There's no what the brass is going to let their golden goose come over to the diplomatic corps, and there is no way in Hell Kirk would willingly give up his ship. He's far too young to be a diplomat anyway."

George began to massage his head and sighed heavily.

"He will become their ambassador Anita; I know it, and this is going to cause us untold trouble in the future. He's a loose cannon, has no regard for protocol, and doesn't respect the chain of command, nor the office he holds. He's demonstrated such time and time again."

"If, and that's a big if, Captain Kirk were to be given such a post, number one," Anita said as she held up a finger, "it isn't going to be long term and I think you know that; number two," Anita raised a second finger, "you're not going to be passed up for merit appointments, and will very likely be given the Alterran portfolio once Quentin has had a chance to chat with their leader himself, and finally you know the diplomatic corps and the service corps are vastly different. You thrive here and would thrive no matter what corps you were assigned to, whereas Kirk will likely flounder here and won't last a month."

Lt. Paris snorted a bit at the remark about Kirk.

"I sat with you in this very room and watched the recordings of the Enterprise's interactions and communications with Commander Boa'ran with you, and I seem to recall their leader himself said that Kirk was just a temporary appointment; that their laws governing diplomatic relations were involved in Kirk's appointment since he was the highest ranked individual of a foreign government they'd established contact with. That's not an entirely unreasonable law…trust who you know, even if you don't know them well. At this point we know nothing about their laws, but they did save over 200 Federation lives when they weren't obligated to...I think it's in our job descriptions to give people the benefit of the doubt and side interpret first contact through the lens of benevolence."

Anita sat her coffee down and pressed a button on the side of the coffee table which lit a fire for her; the autumn weather was setting in and a chill was steadily rolling in from the bay.

"I just don't know Anita," George continued. "I don't know what we are going to do. I'm not against Kirk, but I'm not impressed with him either. He's cocky, he's arrogant, and his ship will have been completely rebuilt twice now, once the crews finish rebuilding her this time, in less than four years…that's nearly two years out of service and he's been a commissioned officer less than five. He's supposed to be a scientist, and yet he's acting like a conquistador of old…charging into situations, and seems to be trying his damnest to go down in a blaze of glory, with his crew in tow, before he's 30. That's not what a good captain does Anita…you spent your five years out there and didn't get into a tenth of the trouble he has…and he's still on his first tour."

George sighed and poured a glass of water from the decanter on the table beside him. It was Anita's favorite; a Vulcan zinfo-spring water which held a natural stimulant, tasted of blueberries, and was slightly carbonated.

He swirled his water and watched the bubbles spin in the water before dropping in two of the large ice cubes into the drink.

"Anita, my problem with Kirk is that he makes a great cowboy captain, but a shit diplomat. Granted his bridge crew help fill in the gaps of Kirk's competency, but in this day and time, with the Klingon peace so fragile, we don't need greenhorns with lit sparklers running gung-ho in the tinder box of the diplomatic corps."

Anita laughed at George's dramatics.

"I think George you're exaggerating and you know it. Kirk's got a few personality quirks but we all do, and we were all greenhorns once upon a yesteryear. While it is unusual for someone of his personality to be an ambassador, we're supposed to be the corps that can roll with the punches and go with the flow better than the meatheads and grunts to use your own words. We're in completely new territory now my friend. The top tier of command has either been assassinated or will likely be taken down in Marcus' web as it's collapsing. I've tried to get in touch with a few friends of mine that were in the academy a few years ahead of me with Marcus and they've suspiciously gone silent, and can't be located. Granted, it's only been a few hours since this all came to light, but at the same time, you never know now do you George?"

The two continued to sit and chat for the remainder of the day and on into the night, and eventually Lt. Paris dictated a report to Admiral La Roué which Captain Hudson signed on to, regarding Kirk, the Alterrans, and why he should hasten his return.

* * *

***Klingon Scout Ship, 1.02 light years from Earth***

Klingon's were a warrior race known for their commitment to honor, and prowess in physical strength over intellect; yet they were a surprisingly equal society when it came to gender parity.

Liva of the House of Kl'ovath was the commander of the Bleth'dak, a lightly armed and highly cloaked scout skip of the Klingon Empire. They had been assigned to infiltrate the heart of Federation Space and observe the goings and comings of Federation Ships.

There was currently a flurry of activity going on at present because the Bleth'dak had observed both the Enterprise and the Vengeance enter the Sol system, but had been unable to trace their warp trail from this distance.

"I want a detailed analasys of these ships and compare them to known Federation vessels, and I want it done in the next microspan or else I'll flay you myself Dirth, Son of Morgath," Liva shouted from her command chair as she typed commands into the arms of her chair causing a screen with basic information on the two ships battling to emerge.

"Aye Sir, the smaller ship has been identified as a Constitution Class Cruiser….NCC 1701, it is the Enterprise Sir….there is nothing in the database for the larger ship."

Activity on the bridge stopped for a moment as everyone turned to Dirth at his revelation.

"Is this a new classification of ship," To'vath Son of Duragh and second in command asked of Dirth.

"I have searched the database twice Sir, and there is nothing in the database which matches the scans we have taken so far of this vessel, but the gas giant they are near has a deep gravitational pull that may be effecting the results of our scan from this distance…we would need to be within .05 light years of the ship, just outside the Sol system, to take more accurate readings," Dirth replied to the first officer.

Liva smirked before tapping a few commands that bathed the bridge in red lighting and projected her voice throughout the entire ship.

"All hands," she began, "prepare for deep incursion into Federation space. All non-essential systems are to be shut down, and all hands are to present at the ready. This is a level 2 incursion. Station masters are to report for ready within 5 minutes or you will be launched into space."

She barked at the helm to take them within .05 light years of the Sol system, and ordered Dirth to begin making adjustments to their sensors to record all data available from the mystery ship and its specifications as was their mission.

By the time the Bleth'dak arrived the Maverick was decloking and Liva ordered battle stations.

"The Federation has developed a cloak," the helmsman yelled as the viewscreen took in the massive ship which appeared between the Enterprise and the other ship.

"Confirmed ship is decloaking between the Enterprise and the mystery ship…the new ship is at least three times the size of the Enterprise, but other than spatial displacement I am getting no readings," Dirth reported in panicked frustration.

"Explain," snarled Liva.

"It is as though the ship is not there. We detect the displacement of space particles and the presence of some type of energy, but I cannot detect the actual ship," he answered.

Liva commanded that the viewscreen have a diagnostic run to ensure the image they were seeing was real…seconds passed and the report came that the screen was not malfunctioning; there was a ship which just materialized in front of them that they could not scan, of unknown design, and unknown origin.

Suddenly the ship suffered a massive power fluctuation and Liva was thrown from her chair as sparks flew from several consoles and one of the ship's lateral thrusters and sub-light engine engaged at full power sending to the sip into a spiral at high speed away from the two mystery ships and the enterprise.

"Report," Liva screamed as she tried to clime into her seat after the inertia dampeners had failed when a second power surge overcame the ship, "have we come under fire?"

"Negative Commander," came the voice of her First Officer who Liva noted was bleeding rather heavily from a cut above his left eye, and a gash on his left hand. "We registered a power surge in the warp core before systems began to malfunction. Recommend we initial wounded bird protocol and contact our tracker ship for repairs at the rendezvous. The cloak has fluctuated in power Sir; if we remain we risk exposure."

Liva snarled in frustration and anger before she slammed her fists upon her armrests.

She calmed herself, considered her mission, and recognizing the dangerous situation her ship and crew were in ordered the ship be brought under control and the coded distress message sent to their tracker ship.

"Enact emergency protocols, engage manual systems, isolate the computer core and effected systems; plot a course to the Interceptor, and send the coded message requesting a meeting with General Ma'lketh. Get my ship under control now; otherwise you're of no use to me and dead weight," Liva spat to her bridge crew who understood her threat of either succeeding or dying.

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity ship-wide, but control was not re-established until the ship had listed, albeit quickly, out of the Sol System and been forced into warp without the order of Commander Liva.

Smoke was billowing from the air vents of the ship as they sped away from the Federation's core at maximum warp, their destination Quo'nos….but with ships systems malfunctioning, the crew knew they may not make it.

"Status!," yelled To'vath asked after stepping up from the unconscious form of Commander Liva.

"Hull integrity is at 45 per cent, command systems are unresponsive. The computer is non-responsive and the core is protected by some type of energy shield we are unfamiliar with Sir!"

Some type of alarm began to sound throughout the ship as the craft fired one of it's stealth probes, but it also began gaining speed.

"Sir, somehow we are exceeding Warp 4, and excelerating!," Dirth shouted above the noise of the hull groaning under the stress of the speeds the ship was not designed for.

"Shut down the engines at once! Cut main power if necessary," screamed To'vath.

The Bleth'dak had accelerated to the point of being out of Federation Space and was barely in the Federation/Klingon Neutral Zone when another probe fired and the ship dropped out of warp suddenly, and main power was cut.

The ship slowly phased back into normal space, and would be visible to ordinary scanners.

Commander Liva began to stir as the sudden drop from warp had shocked her awake.

"Status Report To'vath," she ordered. There was no reply.

Looking around blearily her focus slowly returned to a bridge that was partially on fire, and several member of her bridge crew impaled and motionless on debris which came down after the ship dropped from warp…To'vath was among them.

She rose tepidly and with shaking steps traversed the distance from her command chair to Dirth's station, and seeing him dead removed him from his seat so she could assess the ship and its systems.

The warp core was not in breach surprisingly, and there were few crewmen left alive; but she was registering something odd…it seemed the computer was downloading, to where she could not tell, but there were several of the stealth probes they were tasked with deploying primed and posed to be launched to an area she could not determine. She registered five probes posed and ready to launch, but her immediate concern was the stability of her ship and not a malfunctioning launch system.

"Engineering this is Liva, report!," she ordered.

Static was her only response.

A written message displayed over the systems she was monitoring, apparently from a member of Engeneering.

 _ **Liva: This is Kel'neth, Shi'rokh is dead as are the majority of the officers here. Warp core is under control at present, but beyond my skills to diagnose. Most ships systems except for life support, weapons, recon seem to be heavily damaged and inoperable. Navigation is completely down, and the computer core is offline and inaccessible. There are not less than 30 micro fractures along the port and starboard wings, and deck 5 is loosing pressure at a slow but steady pace. There are plasma fires throughout the ship, and automated systems have failed to contain them. We have an estimated 35 minutes to evacuate the ship Sir. I do not have the skill or knowledge to overcome our present conditions. Recommend sending a distress call to Quo'nos and landing on the nearby planetoid at coordinates x'002323, y' 1.02435, z' 453.57301.**_

Liva scowled and snarled at the perceived weakness of Kel'neth, but quickly calmed knowing that he was simply trying be as honest with her as he could. While it was honorable to die in battle if the mission could not be accomplished, she was not willing to murder the remainder of her crew to save a ship that was beyond repair…a crew which she owed her life to.

She opened internal com systems and broadcast the order to evacuate, but before she rose from the station to seek out a stasis tube herself, she noticed the weapons systems had activated. She shut them down and cut the power to the weapons array before rising, looking about _her_ bridge one last time, at her dead companions, before saluting them and leaving for the escape pod near her quarters.

The dead monitors of the bridge showed static as escape pods began firing from the ship within 5 minutes of Liva leaving the Bridge…and as they began to navigate toward the nearby planetoid, the weapons terminal Liva left suddenly returned to life, and the weapons system and automatic targeting program began to load.

Several screens began to flash and not less than 15 targets appeared, each one represented an escape pod leaving the Bleth'dak.

Suddenly the targeting program tracking the signatures of the pods flashed from yellow to red, and the plasma cannons of the Klingon Scout ship began to charge, as the impulse engines began to fire reorienting the ship placing the extremely vulnerable pods into weapons range.

Liva, who had not yet left the ship, felt the first wave of the weapons fire as the inertial dampeners of the ship had long since failed.

She cursed as she left the probe launch bay, where she was trying to set up a distress beacon, and hastened to return to the bridge she'd left not 10 minutes prior.

She entered seeing a single console active and felt another wave of weapons fire discharge and several of the lights blinking disappeared from the screen; she began frantically typing her command codes to deactivate the weapons system, and after failing multiple times, attempted to reorient the ship away from the pod's line of fire but the con was unresponsive to her.

"Perhaps today IS a good day to die!," she shouted before attempting to instigate a warp core overload.

The core began to show critical, but now torpedoes were firing and where before there were 15 survivors there was a lone pod entering the atmosphere of this unknown planetoid, and suddenly another recoil raced throughout the ship before it blinked out of existence as well.

The warp core suddenly shut down without exploding as she'd planned.

Liva snarled in anger and punched the screen, cracking it in many places…yet it still functioned.

Suddenly a figure appeared on every monitor on the Bridge, and the viewscreen as well.

He was humanoid in appearance, but with a bald head and blue tattoos Liva could not understand the meaning behind, but in perfect Klingon he began to speak.

"I am sorry your crew had to die Commander, but it was necessary to protect the interests of the parties I protect."

"Human scum! You will pay for this with your life!" She ran to the damaged station and began scanning for ships.

"That will be unproductive, and will not reveal anything useful to you," the man said as the station, "your actions are futile. Your systems are under my control."

"This is an act of War against the Klingon Empire Human Scum! We shall rain down fire upon your worlds and the blood of your children shall paint the streets," she threatened as she fought the locks rejecting her command codes.

"I am sorry madam, but your death is necessary as well to complete my mission. I will attempt to make it as painless as I can; for what it is worth, you have fought me honorably and were I a lesser being, your efforts to regain control of your ship may have succeeded," with that the screens went black.

Suddenly the doors to the bridge sealed, and the oxygen to the room was pumped out.

With her dying breath the Commander removed a plasma gun from underneath the console and shot out the view screen plasma relay, which opening a hole into space, and to her mind, rendering the bridge inaccessible as the hole was too small, and the secondary bulkheads ship wide to descend and lock in place.

 _The plasma fire will reach the weapons store in a few moments, then the ship will be vaporized. Today I die with honor,_ Liva thought as the last of the oxygen left her brain and the last life form aboard the Bleth'dak died.

The man appeared on screens throughout the ship and information began to scroll rapidly informing him of the status of the ship, before arcs of energy began to race throughout the ship.

The automated fire suppressant systems activated and suddenly a square block of _something_ materialized in several of the critically damaged systems of the ship before seemingly melting into thin air.

Several minutes passed before the man on the screens began to nod in satisfaction, and suddenly the listing Klingon ship began to reorient itself, it's engines flared to life, and the ship jumped into warp leaving behind no evidence, except the scant debris of the mostly vaporized pods, that it had ever been in this system of space.

* * *

***To Be Continued***

Well, that's the first look at the Sequel to Humanity's Last Hope.

I hope that this will be a slower story that I can develop more, but to do that I would appreciate all of the feedback you're willing to give dear reader.

I'd also appreciate it if you'd be willing to recommend these stories to a friend for their review and critique.

As always, this is something I do in my spare time, and I can't assure regularly paced updates.

Thank you for reading.

Chapter Date: 06/07/2015


	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter x Stargate Atlantis x Star Trek Universe

Synopsis: Upon arrival in what Harry Suspected was his home dimension, he finds ships are traveling toward Earth. Curious, he investigate yet another world, and reality, not his own while attempting to stabilize his magical core, and benefit his burgeoning empire. This is a sequel to Harry Potter Humanity's Last Hope.

Setting: En Media Res onboard the CityShip Atlantis, in the Alternate Universe designated AU02.

Characters: Harry Potter, Stargate, Star Trek Universe, O/C.

Disclaimer: No profit is sought, or accepted, in the publication of this fanfiction. It is purely being written and shared for enjoyment; no remunerations are accepted or expected by the author. All right, privileges, and copyrights belong to their respective holders/owners. I freely admit to having been on a Harry Potter x Stargate kick the last few months, and will try to give special thanks to authors who inspired me on my bio page. Until then, however, if you see something similar too another author of this genre, please point it out to me and I will check my notes as to whether or not I could have accidentally modeled my characters, names, places, events after another.

Please enjoy and review with your comments, critiques.

* * *

Chapter 02: Domestic Politics

* * *

 _***Three Months Post Arrival***_

Hadrian's Keep, and the surrounding systems had been mapped exhaustively, and each had at least one outpost and the beginnings of a colony on the primary world of each system, by the Novans. Their mining operations had produced the backbone of a functional galactic social satellite network, and they'd been able to establish an "Imperial Capital" City outside of Atlantis at the direction of Harry and the various government officials after several days of deliberations.

A new city, as grand as Atlantis, was being constructed several kilometers inland near one of the natural bays of the continent Atlantis had moored herself near.

The once Human Forms of Atlantis, and the Novan Fleet, had been exposed to the news that they were slowly evolving into true life forms, and the news of Harry's illness was slowly being disseminated.

The reactions of the people were varied, if somewhat muted to the norms of how humans may have received the news, but the predominant sentiment was excitement. Beings which from their beginning new they were artificial representations of flesh and blood creatures with no ties to mortality, were suddenly faced with the greatest challenge which ever presented any sentient creature, and which drew the ancient Alterrans to the stars and heights of divinity: chasing after the meaning of life.

There were actually several thousand individuals who'd founded a cult dedicated to the worship and exhortation of Harry. When he discovered the temple and golden statues, as well as the elaborate rituals imposed to seek his favor and divine blessing for the adherents, he'd quietly, and expeditiously dedicated a majority of his time planning and building a personal yacht he could use to escape all the foolishness he seemed to be finding himself present for.

A grand parliament had been built, and it was due to be dedicated in the next week. It contained a massive House of Civilians, as the deliberative chamber for the elected representatives of the colony worlds being established, and an appointed upper chamber of Senior Military Officers.

Harry had thus far approved of the appointment of twelve three star admirals, and a dozen other senior ranked or highly decorated individuals to what he had dubbed the House of Heroes.

An entirely too gaudy, and ridiculously massive, palace was being built for Harry's use and occupancy and the leading contender for the name was, "The Imperial Palace of the Ages," which sat on a massive estate nestled on a precipice in the piedmont and the mountains which overlooked the Bay just outside the main city.

The Palace was being built to combine elements of Harry's wizarding and English heritage, with the utilitarian elegance of the Alterrans, with just a few hints of Imperial Roman styling and design elements to round out the unique architectural design which the Novans seemed to be adapting as their own.

Harry currently sat at his desk in Atlantis looking over the design specifications for the various Courts that were to be built. In his discussions with his Cabinet, he'd discussed his hesitation to allow the Parliament to occupy too many of the hats of government and had opted instead to see the development of an independent judiciary, modeled on the American Judicial System he'd read about in primary school when he was learning about Her Majesty's Government and how different countries and cultures ran their countries.

The plans he currently had before him called for the creation of an "Imperial Palace of Justice," which was modeled somewhat after the Temple of Zeus, yet again though it incorporated elements of the new Novan style of architecture. This particular palace was to hold the Supreme Court, and a trifurcated Court of Appeals split into three separate divisions for Civil, Criminal, and Equity.

The design for the District Court(s) had already been discussed and approved, and for each Novan city there would be one Court with a Presiding District Judge, and room for more to be added as the population grew.

 _This is utter garbage_ , Harry thought as he examined the details for the artist's rendering of the decorations from the plans. _There are more beautiful and practical applications of artwork aside from trying to incorporate my image into almost everything; what they did in that monstrosity I'm supposed to live in was bad enough_.

Harry sat the pad on his desk, and quickly made opened a channel to the individual responsible for the interior design of the building.

"This is Potter," Harry began, "and if I've said it once I've said it a dozen times to you Lin'ara...take me out of the designs. Draw from whatever pantheons of Earth or cultures you want, create an amalgamation of Justice, Truth, or whatever, but please stop plastering my face every ten feet or in every damn government building under construction. I'm neither a god nor deserving of such public display." _Contrary to what some think_ , Harry thought to himself.

"But Sir," Lin'ara began, "you're the Founder of our Empire and the source of our life. We are your creation, and your visage means more to the people than you realize; I know we've had these discussions many times before, but you're simply what's popular right now."

Harry groaned at that admission.

"In time," she continued, "it if the people wish to change the look of our buildings and the interior designs, they have been integrated in such a way as they can be changed easily without damaging the structural integrity of the buildings."

"The buildings are almost complete Sir, and any changes we make now will delay their opening and operation timelines, which would likely displease my supervisors…not to mention your Cabinet," Lin'ara finished.

Growling half-heartedly in annoyance, Harry deactivated the com channel and called for an aid to clear the plans from his desk.

As the aid entered, he exited and made his way to his personal berth; nothing seemed to relax his nerves like a few hours out to sea. Testing out the flight capabilities of his personal yacht were merely a secondary benefit to his intentions of course.

* * *

 _Onboard the HIHSS Marauder, later the same day_.

* * *

Harry sat on the observation deck at the rear of the ship, sipping a juice made from a fruit native to this planet; it was an area which would be inaccessible in an hour's time once the space trials of his new toy were underway properly.

From the hidden speakers located in the lounging area, Harry was alerted to the bridge crew sending him a communication.

"Sir, sorry to disturb you at this time, but we are receiving a priority message from a StarFleet Frequency. It's a weak signal that we've had to boost, but it is broadcasting the agreed upon coded phrase for Ship in Distress Sir. The message was forwarded to you directly by Central Command and the Defense Ministry," the captain explained.

"Very well, please patch it through to my study. I will be there momentarily."

* * *

 _Inside Harry's Study aboard the Marauder_

* * *

"Your Highness, I am Captain Phelps of the Federation Starship Montana. We were on a deep space mission to map several unexplored regions of space within sector 007 of the Alpha Quadrant, but we stumbled upon the bounds of a warp-capable race which were quite hostile to our presence. It's taken us nearly 6 months to reach this deep into space, and it would take us just as long to return to Federation territory."

Harry furrowed his brow.

"What do you need captain," Harry asked as he sat his drink onto his desk.

"Sir, respectfully we are asking for your assistance in getting home. We have suffered major damage to our warp core in a protracted engagement with hostile forces and have only managed to find a brief reprieve in a nebula which masks our warp core signature. We have suffered extensive damage and we've only just managed to stabilize ourselves but we are in no position to leave the safety of the nebula. To make the repairs we need would require our landing on a planet with sufficient mineral resources and developing an extensive mining/refining operation we simply have neither the skill nor ability to undertake."

The Captain raised a cloth to wipe the accumulating sweat from his brow before continuing.

"If you are willing to authorize it Sir, we'd like to request that you allow StarFleet personnel and materials passage onboard one of your ships to bring us much needed supplies and materials to fix my ship, or that you send a towing vessel to bring us in. My understanding of your technology is that you can travel infinitely faster than our current level of technology allows, and that the alliance between my Government and yourself allows for emergency aid and humanitarian missions."

Harry sighed and sat behind his desk, activating it's built in computer terminal and he drew forth a map of Sector 007 which he overlaid with the political map of that section he'd had his people compile with the information the Social Satellites provided.

"Damn," Harry said aloud. "Captain it looks like you're either abutting or well inside the territory of a rather xenophobic and hostile race known as Romulans. They are not a friendly group at all, similar in ideology to the Klingons, but more refined in their methods. They are quite the annoyance."

Harry accessed the SatNet and pulled up a real time display of the nebula where the Montana was hiding, and after a few quick scans of the nebula found the ship so he would be able to learn the ships dimensions for rescue purposes.

"Captain, if my intelligence is correct the Montana is roughly 300 meters from stem to stern, and nearly 230 meters at its widest…correct?"

"You're correct Sir," the Captain Phelps replied.

"I am going to send the _ISS_ _Zeplin_ to your aid. She's a cargo freighter that is more than capable of storing your entire ship in her hull several times over. Along with the _Zeplin_ I am assigning the _ISS Bozier_ _Battle Group_ to be your escort. As you are still inside hostile territory, this will be a stealth mission, and you will discover the benefits of cloaking technology first hand. Are your life support systems functional?"

"Sir all our major systems are currently in flux, and my Chief of Engineering is currently in a medically induced coma in sickbay along with most of my senior officers who were on duty when the initial attacks took place. My Junior officers are not miracle workers, but we're supposedly stable as far as life support is concerned."

Harry thought a few moments over what he knew of their technology and knowing it would only take his ships a few hours at cruising speeds to reach them, decided to take a cautious approach and issue orders to the _Bozier Group_ to proceed with caution even though the SatNet indicated that there were no Romulan vessels, cloaked or otherwise, within a days travel of the _Montana_.

Rushing in with guns blazing was something Harry had abandoned in his older age. He'd learned and changed much from his days as a young Gryffindor fresh out of Hogwarts.

"Captain Phelps, I will be transmitting the orders to the _Bozier Group_ and to the _Zeplin_ to assist in your rescue. I will also be placing you in touch with my Defense Minister or his designate to monitor the progress of this mission. I find it strange though that this request has not come from StarFleet Command. How did you manage to contact us directly?"

The Captain gave a sigh and again wiped his brow before he answered.

"Our communications subsystems have been completely destroyed, and our ability to access Federation Subspace Frequencies have been completely blocked by the loss of those subsystems; however, I have a brilliant crew. One of my ensigns cobbled together a few class one probes which had their coms arrays modified to send out a one time, emergency broadcast through subspace, which we was able to link to my ready room. I made the decision to contact your people as you were the best chance of my people making it home alive. Even if StarFleet sent a rescue mission it would take them 6 months to reach us, and even if they managed to find us, there's no guarantee they wouldn't be attacked by the same hostile forces and risk starting a war."

The Captain took a sip of water on his desk before he continued.

"As I saw my options Sir, it was either risk war or risk a suicide run out of _Romulan_ ," the Captain said the name with some unease at the pronunciation, "controlled space; neither were options I felt particularly inclined to follow. I weighted the risks associated with this breach of diplomatic etiquette and frankly Sir, my crew's lives matter more than any inconvenience my directly contacting you may have caused either of our governments."

There was a resolute tone in the Captains voice which Harry had to respect.

"I understand Captain, and assure you that I understand the actions you've taken. They are well received, and no negative consequences will be filed against you by my government. I've been reviewing the file prepared by my Defense Ministry as to your ship and its crew. We would not have introduced ourselves to the Federation had we not expected to become good neighbors."

Harry took the final sip of his juice.

"You should expect the rescue party within 12 hours. Your ship will be housed within the _Zeplin_ and your personnel will be welcomed to disembark and receive treatment in her medical wing. Captain Nia'va is in charge of the _Zeplin_ and you will be welcomed to contact StarFleet from a secured suite as her guest. In the meantime, I'd suggest avoiding that region of space once you return to your mission Captain."

Captain Phelps noticeably sagged in relief before he gave an emotional thanks to Harry and terminated his transmission.

"Sir," came the voice of an aid, "the captain has asked that all personnel secure themselves and prepare for initial atmospheric flight testing, and has invited you to join him on the bridge for pre-flight prep. He asked I remind you that Space trials will begin within the next 10 minutes."

"Thank you," Harry replied, "I'll be on the bridge shortly."

* * *

 _Secure Meeting Site Section 31; Earth_.

* * *

In a dark room, which seemed to mirror the blackness of the void of space, sat a circular table where a column of light shown to down form a low hanging fixture, illuminating only the center apart from the tops of the table itself which gave off a soft white light for the occupants to utilize on their own.

"As you all know," began a voice which spread evenly across the room, "we have finally been able to regain custody of Singh and his people. We've assigned a dedicated team on Delta Site to begin the process of regaining the Eugenics technology and process which lead to Singh's creation. I've authorized test trials to create a breed of loyal soldiers with their healing and enhanced strength, who will be raised in isolation outside of the boarders of the Federation. I believe we will succeed where others failed if we only seek to enhance sections of the individual instead of the whole. If Singh proved anything, it is that even now we are not quite capable of augmenting the mind. I seek only the will and approval of this counsel to continue in my efforts."

One section of the table turned golden as another speaker was recognized.

"I reiterate my earlier objections that we are missing a vital opportunity here that Marcus has dropped into our hands! We must use this opportunity to curb the more idealistic elements of the Federation and return StarFleet to a true military organization, and ensure that Humanity remains at the pinnacle of creation as we were meant to be! We should implement Operation Terra Nova immediately."

Another section of the table turned golden before a distinctly American, and Southern Drawl, answered the previous speaker.

"I'd be inclined to agree with you, had Marcus not completely jumped the damn shark! Had he stuck with the god damn plan we'd have been at war with the Klingons by now, and in control of Starfleet Command on route to a coup for the control of the Civilian Government. I was rather looking forward to reclaiming North America from Federation control and being a founding father in the Terran Star Empire. The Klingon generals will only have so much time they can buy before the investigation ramps up and their assistance in Marcus' plot to destroy Praxis is revealed. I cannot reiterate enough that if they are revealed and executed, and we do enter into war with the Klingons again, we will have no assurances of a cease fire once we are in control of the Federation. So, while I respect our colleague's eagerness for the implementation of Terra Nova, with Marcus' actions we've drawn an entirely unknown entity onto the game board in the form of these Novans."

A puff of cigar smoke wafted from the shadows which obscured the speaker before he continued.

"I've never seen any technology like they have. It's centuries beyond the comprehension of our top scientists, and none of the Vulcans I've gathered intelligence from can understand it either. The metals they use in their ships are completely unidentifiable, and our computers are completely inadequate to performing any type of analysis without some kind of sample to examine on a molecular level."

More smoke billowed from the shadows in a rapid pace in a show of the speaker's frustrations.

"We can't let these Novans interfere any longer, or else we risk decades of hard work and hard fought ground to be in the positions we are and poised to make a final victory for all Terrans! We have to discourage the deepening of ties between the Federation and these outsiders."

The table once again glowed white as no one held the floor to speak.

After a few moments of deliberative silence, another speaker, this time unmistakably female, took the floor.

"Our agents have secured the _Bleth'dak_ , and we have made great strides in creating not only a Terran Cloak, but also have made great strides in created transphasic cloaking. I believe that Terra Nova could be implemented but only once we have created a suitable number of ships capable of cloaking. Our engineers at Beta Site have already created a prototype to detect cloaked Klingon Ships based on the specifications and internal data sent to us by General Ma'lketh, and based on the data we've received Beta Team believes they have created the systems necessary to fire while cloaked."

There was some chatter around the table at this revelation before the speaker continued.

"With initial field tests proving a positive response to the ship prototype I've commissioned, I'm also happy to report that the covert operative cloak and weaponry have proved just as promising."

Another section of the table lit up allowing another individual to speak.

"You've managed to successfully miniaturize a cloak? What's the impact radius?"

Before the speaker could respond there were five distortions in the center of the gathering, as the table was not one solid piece of furniture, and there were suddenly five armed individual with weapons raised pointing at five different members of the assembly.

"I believe," the female voice continued, "that should answer your questions quite well. Gentlemen, you may transport back to my transport."

The five individuals stood down and transported out of the room as was planned.

"If I may continue," she began anew, "these cloaks do not show up on standard tricorder scans, or internal scans for standard StarFleet security systems. Field tests have proven that they do not show up on any of any sensor sweeps that we can monitor. Olympus Ascending is ready for execution. We have several disruptors and blades from the House of Dur'Oth supplied by General Mal'keth; he's the high ranking Counselor from the Klingon High Command that is the major power for the current Chancellor. There are currently 15 high level admirals and 26 subordinate officers which are priority targets for elimination, and roughly 10 members of the civilian government that would need to be eradicated simultaneous to the officers."

"I currently have 50 well trained individuals loyal to our cause who have been properly vetted and screened, which have been trained in the use of this stealth technology. You have all seen a demonstration and how effective it is. I move that this counsel immediately initiate Operation Olympus Ascending."

The table returned to having the soft white light as the golden glow of the speaker faded.

General discussion could be heard as individuals weighed the pros and cons of the motion.

After several moments of intense silence and heavy billows of smoke coming from his area, the man with the cigar took the floor once more.

"I second the Motion, and move for the immediate execution of Operation Terra Nova once Olympus Ascending has been completed."

A vote was called, and passed unanimously.

The Federation didn't know it yet, but it was now facing Civil War…one it may lose before it even knew it had fight for its very survival.

* * *

 _Humanity's Next Frontier-Humanity's Next Frontier-Humanity's Next Frontier_

 _StarFleet Command, Temporary Office of Ambassador James T. Kirk_

* * *

"Damn it La Roué I am sick of this damn posting! All the Novans seem to care about are trade deals and secure routes of passage for intersteller commerce. I've brought up defense pacts and proposals that they join the Federation until I'm blue in the fucking face. I'm done with your people putting me up to this shit. I've been in this post far longer than I was promised, and I'm a hairs breadth away from telling that smug Novan Ambassador to go suck Klingon Cock and handing in my resignation. Either promote Paris to this post, or be prepared to fill it yourself. These people are even more induriating that Vulcans and I'm done," Ambassador Kirk ranted to his superior officer Admiral Quentin La Roué.

"Flattering though I'm sure your tone is intended to be Kirk," the dulcet tones of the Admiral began in reply, "might I remind you that these people may be **the** key to securing the means to achieve ultimate peace in this Quadrant, and perhaps the Galaxy? This isn't some desolate outpost you've been sent to in disgrace, this is the preeminent posting for Federation Diplomacy and a chance to usher in a peace treaty that will see a technological exchange that may catapult the Federation into the next millennium; so suck it up you ungrateful little shit, and do your damn job like the StarFleet Officer you claim to be. I expect you to act and behave at all times with poise, dignity, and respect to our new friends, and while you occupy this office. Anything less that exemplary performance and I'll see you disappearing into a black hole somewhere, being re-educated with the blunt end of an Aderran torture stick until you learn your place. La Roué out."

With that the transmission ended, just as James threw the vase from his desk with a howl of rage at the screen, sending glass shards from both the vase and the terminal screen all over his office. His Chief of Staff came charging into the office, took one look at the state of things, and sent for a maintenance and cleaning crew.

"Ambassador, must you and always have such violent reactions to Admiral La Roué," came the quiet voice of the Commander Spock. Upon being told of his involuntary "promotion" and it meaning he lost his commission as Captain of the Enterprise, to Sulu of all people, Kirk had demanded he staff his office with his choice of crewmen from the Enterprise, Spock chief among them.

"Don't get me started oh ye with pointe ears. I'm in no mood," James replied as he slumped into his seat.

"That much Ambassador is quite obvious. Perhaps I should call for your lunch. You do tend to get testy when you've not eaten, and you do have a conference call with Minister Fa'leh. Do you need the file on the mining treaty we seek to establish with them," Spock asked with his usual tone void of any emotion.

"What point is there? Where is the logic in continuing this fallacy with these people," James asked with as much sarcasm as he could directed at Commander Spock.

"I do not understand your query Ambassador," Spock replied.

"I mean Mr. Spock, that we've not even been able to get a location for their home-world or the bounds of their empire after months of negotiations; what makes La Roué, and Starfleet Command, think that they can get these people to agree to a mineral rights treaty?" Jim sighed as he fetched himself a glass of water.

"I get that Starfleet is very interested in getting a chance to examine some of the minerals that these people have created their hulls from, and I get that it securing this type of trade with them could lead to wonderful chances at espionage or covert exploration. What I don't get is why Command thinks these people are going to complicit in Starfleet's machinations…," Jim trailed off in his thoughts.

"Ambassador, I do not presume to think that I would know the intent of Starfleet Command, nor would I be so bold as to presume your instincts are off base as you've described them; but with the clarity of thought that logical discipline brings, and upon examination of the facts as they appear to us today, it is a natural conclusion that the Novan people are simply very isolationist in nature. To pressure them for StarCharts or the bounds of their empire could be a great faux pas that may endanger their relations with us, and as Dr. Brenovich has informed you on numerous occasions and staff meetings past, a piecemeal approach is better than having all avenues of forward momentum foreclosed." Spock sat down at his customary chair near the window beside Jim's desk so he could overlook the bustling city below.

"Ambassador, I believe that the Novans would allow our ships and members to map the region with their sensors, but simply do not wish to give us vital information with our peoples barely knowing one another."

"Be that as it may Spock, they did step into a quagmire with the Marcus situation, and though they've been relatively quiet I believe they're intentionally holding out on us. They forced me into this god forsaken post, and there has to be a reason they wanted me…and not just so they could tell me no every time I asked for something on behalf of the Federation." James slammed his hand onto the desk in frustration. "I don't like being played Spock, and I want my damn life back."

"Jim, you know as well as I do that the Enterprise isn't forever lost to you. You're going to have the chance to return to your command once Lt. Paris is finally able to take over this post. To use Doctor McCoy's language, you're just a seat filler here Jim."

"I'd normally agree with you Spock, but it's been months. I'm sick of this. I miss my ship, my crew…my family. I need to be back out there among the stars."

Jim sat in silent contemplation for a few minutes before his brow suddenly relaxed, and a true smile blossomed on his face.

"Spock, get La Roué back on the con please," a spark flew from the damaged panel behind him, "in the conference room please. I need to speak with him urgently."

Spock's only reply was to quick an eyebrow and rise to fulfill this task.

* * *

- _Humanity's Next Frontier-Humanity's Next Frontier-Humanity's Next Frontier_

 _StarFleet Command, Conference Room of Ambassador James T. Kirk_

* * *

"Kirk you'd better have a damn good apology ready to have interrupted me right now; especially after the tantrum you threw," Admiral La Roué began.

"Oh Quentin, I do have something very important to say, and I'm sorry for my outburst earlier, but I've come into some clarity of thought recently and I thought I'd share it with you," Jim replied.

"And what pray tell have you discovered Mr. Kirk," came the Admiral's reply.

"You're going to ensure my immediate promotion to Admiral, and assign the Enterprise to my command where I will execute my diplomatic duties from instead of here at Starfleet Command," James said with a shit eating grin. From his seat beside Jim, Spock merely turned his head to study James and incline his eyebrow at the course of events.

"You've lost what little sense you had left Kirk. You're no where near worthy of a promotion, let alone deserving of one," the admiral began before James cut him off.

"Then have fun trying to establish relations with these Novans without me. I either get the promotion and control of my ship back, or I hereby tender my resignation to StarFleet effective immediately."

"Ambassador, perhaps this is not the most prudent course of action to take," began Spock before he was waived off by Jim.

"Listen to your Vulcan friend Son, this is not a laughing matter," the Admiral replied as his face slowly regained a calmer expression.

"I'm sorry Admiral, but dealing with these people, and putting up with your bullshit or that from command, simply isn't worth my time unless my demands are met. I was forcibly removed from the posting I loved and forced into this by powers beyond my control, and as a loyal member of Starfleet I complied with my orders for a long as humanly possible. I am unwilling to suffer under these conditions any longer. Either grant my demands or see how well the Novans react to finding out you've gotten rid of their pet human.

La Roué slowly began to purple before calming himself, and after fidgeting with his hands for a few moments he finally looked up and met Kirk's gaze dead on.

"I'm not normally one to be trifled with, and were it not for your history of heroism in service of the Federation I would be much less selective about the language to convey this message; but your demands are unreasonable, I will not entertain them, nor do I appreciate your attempts to strong arm me. I expect your letter to me within the hour. Please vacate the office and grounds once you have sent it. StarFleet will hate to see such a promising young man go, but you've clearly stated your grievance and intentions. La Roué out," and with that the screen went dark.

"May I ask, just what in the Hell you were thinking Jim," came the inquisitive tone of Spock.

With a smile on his face, and a spring in his step, James rose to leave. He had two messages to send after all. One to La Roué and the other to Ambassador Fa'leh informing him that Starfleet had failed to follow through on their commitments to him, so he was forced to resign.

 _Yes,_ thought Jim, _it is an interesting time to be alive. Let La Roué reap what he's sewn._

As Spock sat in contemplation, he was somewhat surprised to hear laughter coming from Jim's former office.

 _This cannot be good_ , he thought.

* * *

***To Be Continued***

Location of Hadrian's Keep: I've said in the first chapter that it was located within or near 5 light years of earth. I am hereby officially amending that to it being approximately 7 light years from Earth, and placing Hadrian's Keep, the planet, in Galactic Quadrant Q-3 as found on this map: www. /images/AST030. Jpg (take out the spaces).

Based on the calculations I've come to then, Quo'nos is within 5 light years of Earth…this would explain how quickly the Enterprise was able to travel from there, back to the Sol system in such a (relatively) short time, meaning the Federation Flagship has the ability to go faster than Warp 5. However, I could be wrong about the math, and don't claim this story is scientifically, or Trek Cannon, accurate.

I **will** bend the rules and established parameters to make this story work, so please don't think this is being written as some sort of fan piece devoted to cannon.

Here's the second take at Humanity's Next Frontier. I hope that it's providing at least an entertaining plot, and if someone were to want to take a few of my ideas and run with them, you are welcome to…just please let me know so I can follow along.

Because of my work schedule I think I'm going to start publishing chapters when each reaches approximately 5,000 words. I know most of the complaints I've had have come from the wait time and length of the chapters.

I hope that this will be a slower story that I can develop more, but to do that I would appreciate all of the feedback you're willing to give dear reader.

I'd also appreciate it if you'd be willing to recommend these stories to a friend for their review and critique.

As always, this is something I do in my spare time, and I can't assure regularly paced updates.

Thank you for reading.

Chapter Date: November 18, 2015

13


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